PHOENIX — Mental health issues are a priority for parents and teens in Arizona, and some school districts are teaching lifesaving skills to deal with anxiety, depression and fears associated with bullying at school.
The Buckeye Elementary School District is one of the districts that stands up for what is right. It houses a few schools implementing the Leader in Me Program.
The program incorporates lessons of responsibility, adaptability and independence starting in kindergarten.
The practices come from Stephen Covey’s best-selling book, The 7 habits of highly effective people.
Some schools in Peoria, Glendale and Phoenix are seeing the benefits of The Grief Sensitive Schools Initiative.
This program provides ways for teachers, counselors and other staff to connect with students who may be on the verge of an emotional breakdown.
ABC15’s Kaley O’Kelley spoke with a group of eighth grade students from the Litchfield Elementary School District.
Our team was on hand for an interview about Media Literacy Week when the topic of mental health came up.
“I just want to know more about it to understand why people bully people. I just want the world to be beautiful. You know?” said 14-year-old Logan Haas.
“Is there anything in the world that bothers you?” » asked O’Kelley. “Anything you’d like to know more about? Maybe any changes you’d like to see?”
Expressing empathy and compassion, Haas responded, “The psychology of people being like bullies, because I’ve experienced that a lot. So, I kind of want to know what’s going on.”
Classmate Leah Preston also shared her concerns.
“To pick up on what Logan said, I also want to… explore the world of how people think and… feel. Because personally, I struggle with that a lot.”
Alanna Sternad, another classmate, said, “I just want people to know they’re not alone. »
These three students are helping start a new journalism club at their school in the Litchfield Elementary School District.
Speaking about opportunities to share hopeful mental health resources through storytelling, Preston also told O’Kelley: “I think it would be eye-opening for some people – it could open up their whole perspective on everything .”
Dr. Emily Bashah is a psychologist based in Scottsdale. She says understanding the motive behind bullying can help create an environment of empathy, leading to more positive relationships.
“The best thing a parent can do, especially for a teenager, is to maintain a close relationship with them,” Dr. Bashah said. She added that low self-esteem, social media influence, insecurity and fear are on a growing list of reasons linked to why some children torment others.
Because parents are not at school to see what is happening on a daily basis, it is not always easy to see when children are being bullied. But Dr. Bashah says parents can learn more about what’s happening at school by getting to know the people their children consider their friends.
“Invite them to dinner, take them to a game, do something fun with them, and I think that will help bring some of those relationships closer together so you can really observe and see who their friends are.”
